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18 SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | MAY 2022 By Pam Yang, Resident My dad's childhood dog, Queenie, was an Airedale. Bridget was my childhood Airedale. Gretchen was David's and my first Airedale. After being "dog-less" for several years, we now have Gidget. She has her favorite people; you know who you are. Airedales become like one of your children, a point recently driven home when I overheard my eldest daughter tell her sister when David called Gidget, Baby Girl, "I remember when that's what he called me." In 1853, an Otterhound was crossed with the now extinct Rough Coated Black and Tan Terrier, resulting in the Airedale, often referred to as "The King of Terriers." Airedales were used extensively in World War I because of their tenacity and hound scent abilities. They were used to locate injured soldiers on the field, sometimes dragging them to safety. The most notable, Jack, ran through enemy fire to deliver a message and was severely injured. When he finally delivered the message, Jack laid down and died. Airedales became one of the most popular breeds in the 1920's. Several US Presidents owned them… Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, and Warren Harding. Harding's Laddie Boy had his own chair at Cabinet meetings. He even had a column in the Washington Post where "he" commented on legislation. Because Harding had been a paper boy and the nation loved Laddie Boy, newsboys across America collected 19,134 pennies to be melted and sculpted into a statue of Laddie Boy, presented to the Smithsonian Institute in 1927. When Laddie Boy died his death made headlines across the nation. Another statue stands next to Harding's in Rapid City, South Dakota, as part of its "City of President's" art installation of presidential statues. My paternal grandfather was a streetcar conductor in Washington D.C., whose route Laddie Boy's caretaker happened to ride. When Laddie Boy sired a litter of puppies they were given to the Hardings. They kept one for each of their kids and the caretaker was asked to destroy the others (what? why?). That evening he gave my grandfather a small box and asked that he never tell where he got it. Queenie was in that box! I belong to a couple of Airedale FaceBook groups, and saw mentioned a San Francisco Airedale meetup group. I searched and found LA Airedale Meetup and they recently announced a meetup at Huntington Dog Beach. There were 10 Airedales who attended, but only five at a time. Gidget had a great time, running around playing with dogs and stealing balls. She even snatched a soccer ball from a couple of surprised teenage girls. It was fun for us to see her interaction with other dogs that looked just like her. David and I enjoyed meeting the "parents" and we all agreed we would do it again in a heartbeat. As for my sweatshirt, we buy one whenever we go home… "Go Blue!" Our GidgeT

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